Is US planning to make F16s in India?

While President-elect Donald Trump is thinking on keeps jobs for native Americans, the outgoing President Barack Obama is working on a deal, which if approved will lead to Indian Government manufacture F-16 Fighting Falcons in India. This will give a vital boost to Indian defense sector as India needs to replace the aging Russian-made jets on a priority basis.

The company behind the production of F-16, Lockheed Martin will then move its production to India. This will make India the only country in the world which will produce F-16. United States Military is increasingly moving towards producing advanced F-35 and F-16 are now only manufactured for foreign buyers.

However, Lockheed Martin says that there will be no loss of jobs as a result of this move as most of the technical staff associated with the production of F-16 will shift base to the production of F-35. India, on the other hand, stands to gain a lot since it will generate more employment.

With the track record of India not being extremely good in defense procurements, it waits to be seen if this deal materializes since India needs to maintain a tactical balance with all its other friends as Russia and Israel. Any step taken in haste will definitely have a bearing on long-term relations with other allies, something which India will never advocate.